A wedding on an SD card. The microSD for your drone. A photographer's month on CompactFlash. Cards are prone to failure from corruption, snapping the shell of the flash (or even just wearing it out), and it is here that the lab's heritage also lies, as one of the first labs in the UK to read memory-card chips directly after the death of the card they were housed within. SD card recovery, microSD or CompactFlash: we will provide you with a complimentary diagnostic, followed by a firm quotation for the recovery.
Corruption is the most common failure, and it results in: the camera states 'card error', the computer asks for a format of the card, and all you see inside the folder is fragments. This corruption could be due to interruptions during write processes (the battery dies during an active shot, or your card is pulled while still being written). Counterfeit memory cards can cause it too: they may have a stated capacity far beyond what they actually can hold. The physical failure of memory cards is less subtle: the microSD may break into pieces, the full-sized shell may crack, or simply no card reader will recognise the memory card. Memory cards used heavily and repeatedly (dashcams and security cameras especially) will eventually wear out and reach the end of their rewrite limit. Two rules apply universally: do not take any new photos on that memory card (any data you write to it after the loss can overwrite the previously lost data), and never agree to a request to format this memory card.
Most cards have an integrated 'monolithic' structure with both the controller and the NAND located on the same piece of resin. When the card's electronics fail or when the outer shell breaks apart, the NAND can often survive inside the card. The path for recovering a card that fails in either of these two ways is to simply expose the test points on the chip, then read out the raw NAND. From there, the data contained within the NAND can be rebuilt by reversing the mathematical scrambles performed by the controller (the wear levelling, interleaving and error correction coding). This process is very time consuming and requires highly specialised knowledge. The recovery method has been used here longer than nearly every other similar facility in the UK. Therefore, if a shop tells you a broken card cannot be recovered, that should be considered a case for a second opinion rather than a final judgement.
Most often no: a card error is mostly corruption over photos that are still good. Stop using the card immediately (every new shot can overwrite an old one) and decline any format offers. Logical card recoveries are among the jobs that take the least time to do on the bench.
Surprisingly often, no. A snap in half of a monolithic card does not have to mean the flash chip inside has been destroyed; chip-level data reading can read straight from the NAND. It depends where the shell broke (through the resin or through the die), and the free diagnostic gives you an honest answer.
Often yes: the weakened cells of old cards will still hold data that can be recovered through imaging as they deteriorate. However, loop recording means that the earliest images are actually erased (overwritten) by the newer ones. Therefore you should have some realism in your expectations of what can be retrieved from the system based on how long it has been running. If using a DVR/security recorder with a hard drive instead of a memory card, please refer to our CCTV/DVR service page.
First, a free diagnostic, then a fixed written quote before any work is done. This means no surprises on the invoice (because we don't give you an invoice until you approve the number).
Examples of some of our other work from the bench that are similar to this kind of job.
It will take only two moves to place your device at our service area, and once that has been accomplished, the clock on your free look starts.
First get a quote, over the telephone or using the online quotation form. When sending your internal drive, remove all cables, caddies and power supplies, as they will have little use when sent to us. But when sending an external drive, send the complete item, including its original casing, together with the supplied cable and power supply. Ensure that the device is securely wrapped and unable to move during transportation. Either post it insured to 4 Redheughs Rigg Westpoint, South Gyle, Edinburgh EH12 9DQ or call into our offices Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, with no appointment needed. Please include a brief description of how your device was damaged. If you have printed a shipping form, please attach it along with the device.
Once the arrival of your device has been confirmed, the diagnostic will run free of charge, and then when we make the phone call to you, we'll name the problem and tell you the fixed price to fix it. The bench will remain dormant on your device until you give us permission to proceed.
The price for recovering your data is fixed at £250 + VAT. We also include a free diagnostic assessment prior to commencing recovery work. Every single image that we recover will be checked individually to ensure its integrity prior to being returned to you.